Courage and constructiveness distinguish East London Pride march

An East London Pride marcher outside Hackney Town Hall. Photograph: Dave Hill

The East London Pride march set off from Hackney Town Hall on Saturday despite some disagreements among its own supporters and in constructive and courageous defiance of all forms of bigotry in this part of the capital. The T-shirt of the marcher pictured above conveyed the key sentiment.

Anger and anxiety about the safety of gay people had been intensified by the appearance in February of street stickers declaring "gay free zone" and warning of divine retribution for homosexuality. Most had appeared in Tower Hamlets, though parts of Hackney were disfigured by them too. I saw one at the time a short walk from where Saturday's march set out. In June, an eighteen year-old local Muslim man pleaded guilty to placing the stickers after being charged under the Public Order Act..

By then, delicate meetings were taking place involving, among others, Muslim leaders in Tower Hamlets, the borough's mayor Lutfur Rahman and local LGBT groups. Jack Gilbert, an organiser of Saturday's march, documented the process for the Guardian in July. His account demonstrates the complexities of identifying, declaring and maintaining a common ground of mutual respect of difference, epseically when there is pressure on all parties to the discussion to seek no such shared territory.

The situation was further complicated when in March it emerged that one of the organisers of the Pride march had connections with the English Defence League, causing the event to be postponed. It's not the only example of concern over homophobia being appropriated by those determined to convey the false impression that Tower Hamlets is dominated by Muslim fundamentalists. Some of the journalism about the area, its politicians and its mosques, has been simplistic, sensationalist, distorting and extremely irresponsible. An intolerant strain of Muslim activism has certainly been an objectionable part of the Tower Hamlets political scene for some years, but it is by no means representative.

Saturday's event was able to take place despite the Met's five borough ban on marches, introduced to prevent the EDL from parading through the East End earlier this month, because it fell into the exempt category of local custom. It seemed a fairly small affair and it travelled only a short distance into Tower Hamlets. Yet it and its central message can be seen as a mark of useful progress through a difficult community relations landscape.

Lutfur Rahman, whose huge victory in the mayoral election last year owed much to the support of the borough's politically very active Muslim residents, addressed the campaigners at Oxford House on Hackney Road following the march. The BBC reports that he said:

I grew up here, and have seen how things have changed in the last 20 years. I want you to be in no doubt I will fight to ensure there is respect for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender culture and rights in the same way I will for all communities.